Civil War Facts Civil War Facts Many elements of Civil War scholarship are still hotly debated. The facts on this page are based on the soundest information available. Q. When was the Civil War fought? The war began when the Confederates bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter , South Carolina on April 12, 1861. The war ended in Spring, 1865. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. The last battle was fought at Palmito Ranch , Texas, on May 13, 1865. Click here for a Civil War timeline. The bombardment of Fort Sumter (Library of Congress) Q. Where was the Civil War fought? The Civil War was fought in thousands of different places , from southern Pennsylvania to Texas; from New Mexico to the Florida coast. The majority of the fighting took place in the states of Virginia and Tennessee. The Civil War was also contested on the Atlantic Ocean as far off as the coast of France, the Gulf of Mexico, and the brown water of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Battles of the Civil War | Civil War Navies Q. How many soldiers fought in the Civil War? At the beginning of the war the Northern states had a combined population of 22 million people. The Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million. This disparity was reflected in the size of the armies in the field. The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one. Q. How many soldiers died in the Civil War? Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War. This number comes from an 1889 study of the war performed by William F. Fox and Thomas Leonard Livermore. Both men fought for the Union. Their estimate is derived from an exhaustive study of the combat and casualty records generated by the armies over five years of fighting. A recent study puts the number of dead as high as 850,000. Q. How many soldiers died in the Civil War as compared to other American wars?

Roughly 1,264,000 American soldiers have died in the nation's wars--620,000 in the Civil War and 644,000 in all other conflicts. It was only as recently as the Vietnam War that the amount of American deaths in foreign wars eclipsed the number who died in the Civil War. Q. Who won the Civil War? The Northern armies were victorious, and the rebellious states returned to the Union. Q. Who ran in the election of 1860? The election of 1860 was one of the most unusual in American history. In a four-way race brought on by a split in the Democratic Party, Abraham Lincoln's name did not even appear on the ballot in most Southern states. In the electoral college , Lincoln solidly carried the free states of the Northeast and Northwest. Breckenridge won the slaveholding states, with the exception of Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky in the Upper South, which went to Bell. Douglas, though he made a solid showing in the popular vote, only took electoral votes from Missouri and New Jersey. Abraham Lincoln delivers his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861.

(Library of Congress) Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, Republican Party: 39.8% Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, Northern Democratic Party: 29.5% John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, Southern Democratic Party: 18.1% John Bell of Tennessee, Constitutional Union Party: 12.6% Q. When did the Southern states secede from the Union? South Carolina - December 20, 1860 Mississippi - January 9, 1861 North Carolina - May 20, 1861 Tennessee - June 8, 1861 Q. Was secession legal? No, although it was not ruled illegal until after the war. This was a complex question at the time, with able legal minds to be found arguing both sides, but the United States Supreme Court, in Texas v. White , 74 U.S. 700 (1868), determined that secession was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Salmon Chase wrote in his majority opinion that, "The ordinance of secession...and all the acts of legislature intended to give effect to that ordinance, were absolutely null. They were utterly without operation in law." Q.

What caused the Civil War? While many still debate the ultimate causes of the Civil War , Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson writes that, "The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states. When Abraham Lincoln won election in 1860 as the first Republican president on a platform pledging to keep slavery out of the territories, seven slave states in the deep South seceded and formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. The incoming Lincoln administration and most of the Northern people refused to recognize the legitimacy of secession. They feared that it would discredit democracy and create a fatal precedent that would eventually fragment the no-longer United States into several small, squabbling countries." See our Civil War Infographic Q. What is a casualty? Too often, people take 'casualty' and 'fatality' to be interchangeable terms .

In fact, a casualty is "a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action." Essentially, a casualty is any soldier who goes into a fight and does not return fit to take part in the next battle. Many soldiers, especially in the Confederate ranks, became casualties several times: some soldiers were captured multiple times; some were wounded in non-consecutive engagements. Q. What caused casualties during a battle? Q. What happened to the dead? Typically, soldiers were buried where they fell on the battlefield. Others were buried near the hospitals where they died. At most battlefields the dead were exhumed and moved to National or Confederate cemeteries, but because there were so many bodies, and because of the time and effort it took to disinter them, there are undoubtedly thousands if not tens of thousands of Civil War soldiers in unknown battlefield graves. Go In Depth Historian Pete Carmichael describes the process of finding, burying, and reburying the dead after battles. He also discusses the significance of having a "decent burial," and efforts to lay soldiers to rest in military cemeteries in the years after the war.

This video is part of the Civil War Trust's In4 video series, which presents short videos on basic Civil War topics. Watch the Video » Q. What happened to prisoners? More than 400,000 soldiers were captured over the course of the Civil War. In the first years of the conflict, equal numbers of captured troops were regularly exchanged for one another, helping to keep the total number of prisoners manageable for both sides. Over the course of the war, however, that practice faded from use. By the end of the war, the plight of prisoners of war on both sides had become bleak indeed. Thousands of Southerners died in the freezing camp at Elmira, New York, and the camp at Andersonville, Georgia, which held Union prisoners, has become one of the most infamous in the history of war. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as died fighting in Vietnam. Q. How advanced was medicine during the Civil War? Two thirds of those killed in the Civil War died of disease. Germ theory had not been widely accepted in the medical world at the time of the Civil War and modern antiseptics, which could have greatly reduced the spread of bacteria and the outbreak of disease, did not exist.

As George Worthington Adams famously wrote, “The Civil War was fought in the very last years of the medical middle ages.” Chloroform, ether and whiskey were the main anesthetics. Still, many survived their wounds and had only the dedicated doctors and nurses and their selfless efforts to thank. Medicine is an ever-evolving science. Unfortunately for those who fought in the Civil War, the technology of warfare had surpassed the technology of health care. A Union field hospital at Savage Station, Virginia in 1862. (Library of Congress) Q. How was the army organized? The largest military unit is the army, which is sub-divided into smaller commands. Although organization varied between the armies, the largest sub-section of a given army was the corps, which was typically divided into two or more divisions, each composed of two or more brigades, which were each made up of two or more regiments, with each regiment containing roughly ten companies of ideally 100 men (but more typically near 30). Companies themselves were subdivided into platoons and squads before the army finally reached the level of the individual soldier. Armies were sometimes grouped together in "departments" that were defined by geography and operational objective.

Go In Depth Historian Garry Adelman explains how the Union and Confederate armies organized and led their infantry, cavalry, and artillery units. This video is part of the Civil War Trust's In4 video series, which presents short videos on basic Civil War topics. Watch the Video » Q. How much were soldiers paid? A white Union private made thirteen dollars a month ; his black counterpart made seven dollars until Congress rectified the discrepancy in 1864. A Confederate private ostensibly made eleven dollars a month, but often went long stretches with no pay at all. Q. What role did African-Americans play in the war effort? With the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, African-Americans - both free and runaway slaves - came forward to volunteer for the Union cause in substantial numbers. Beginning in October, approximately 180,000 African-Americans, comprising 163 units, served in the U.S. Army, and 18,000 in the Navy. That month, the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers repulsed a Confederate attack at Island Mound, Missouri. Men of the U.S.C.T.

(United States Colored Troops) units went on to distinguish themselves on battlefields east and west - at Port Hudson , Louisiana; Honey Springs , Oklahoma; Fort Wagner , South Carolina; New Market Heights , Virginia. African Americans constituted 10% of the entire Union Army by the end of the war, and nearly 40,000 died over the course of the war. Go In Depth Historian Hari Jones summarizes the experience of African American Civil War soldiers, from emancipation to the authorization of United States Colored Troops to their experiences on the battlefield. This video is part of the Civil War Trust's In4 video series, which presents short videos on basic Civil War topics. Watch the Video » Q. What did soldiers do in their free time? When they were not drilling, which made up a considerable portion of their time in camp, soldiers passed the time writing letters, playing games like checkers, dominoes and poker, drinking, smoking, whittling, making music and praying. One soldier summed it up when he wrote to his wife, "Soldiering is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror." Q. What did soldiers eat?

A Union soldier poses in front of a "fresh" shipment of hardtack. (Library of Congress) Civil War soldiers' fare varied substantially from army to army and throughout the course of the war for both sides. For the most part, neither side ate particularly well. Hardtack and coffee were the staples, in addition to salt pork, corn meal and whatever fruits, vegetables and berries could be collected on the march. Many Confederate soldiers were in a state of near-starvation by the war's end. Q. What was the average soldier's age? The average Union soldier was 25.8 years old; there is no definite information on the average age of Confederate soldiers, but by the end of the war old men and young boys, who otherwise would have stayed home, were being pressed into service. The average soldier on both sides was a white, native-born, protestant farmer. Q. Did anybody win the Medal of Honor in the Civil War? Yes. There were 1522 Medals of Honor issued to Northern troops, black and white, over the course of the war. The Confederate Army did not have combat medals. Robert E.

Lee explained that the highest honor possible was to be "mentioned in dispatches," in other words, to be included in an officer's report for particularly gallant conduct. John Singleton Mosby , the "Grey Ghost," was mentioned in dispatches more than any other Confederate soldier. Q. Were there naval battles in the Civil War? Yes, the North and South waged war on the Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the rivers of the mainland. Cotton trade with Europe was vital to the Southern war effort, which led Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott to order a strangling blockade known as the "Anaconda Plan." While Southern blockade runners tested this screen, engineers were inventing the first ironclad warships the world had ever seen. On the rivers, gunboats, shore batteries, and island fortresses entered the battle as both sides fought for control of inland arteries that were essential to the fast transport of men and material. The Civil War at sea, mostly notably with the development of the ironclads, changed the trajectory of naval warfare around the globe. The duel of the ironclads U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia drew international attention. (Library of Congress) Q.

What was the range of Civil War artillery? Smoothbore cannons, such as the 12-pounder Napoleon, had a range of around three-quarters of a mile; rifled cannons, such as the 10-pounder Parrott, had a range of one and a half miles, or about double that of a smoothbore. Some larger cannons and imported pieces could fire even farther. Go In Depth Historian Garry Adelman describes the different types of Civil War cannons and ammunition, and explains how they were fired. This video is part of the Civil War Trust's In4 video series, which presents short videos on basic Civil War topics. Watch the Video » Q. How did the draft work? The Confederacy instituted the first draft in American history in April of 1862. It was clear that the South, with a total population of 9 million (including 4 million slaves), would have to muster all of its manpower to repel the North, which had an 1860 population of around 22 million. The Confederate draft exempted those who owned twenty slaves or more, however, arousing resentment amongst the poor whites who constituted the vast majority of the army.

Abraham Lincoln instituted a draft on the Northern states a year later, likewise calling on all able-bodied 18-35 year old men to serve. There were exemptions in the North, too, if those drafted could pay a significant fee or provide a substitute. Q. Why are there alternate names for Civil War battles? Union commanders typically named battles after the nearest river or creek. Confederates typically named battles after the nearest city or town. But these rules did not always apply; they were highly dependent on the names employed by the victors, the public and the media. This view shows Union ironclads firing heavy ordnance near Charleston Harbor. (Library of Congress) Q. Are there photographs of Civil War battles? Photography was a new art form when the Civil War broke out. The cameras and chemicals available at the time were too unwieldy and unstable to accommodate the chaos of a battlefield. Nevertheless, a few photographs of Civil War combat do exist, including images of artillery bombardments, gunboat broadsides, and battle smoke at Nashville and Fredericksburg. Thousands of other Civil War photographs can be found online at the Library of Congress . Q. Were there black Confederate soldiers?

Slaves and free blacks were present in the Confederate lines as handservants and manual laborers. On March 14, 1865 the Confederate military issued General Orders No. 14, which provided for the raising of black combat regiments, but there is no official military documentation that indicates these orders were carried out or that any black soldiers were ever properly enlisted in the Confederate army. There are a few photographs of blacks in Confederate uniforms, but these appear to be hoaxes. Q. What are some of the best Civil War books? Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson -- Considered by many to be the finest single-volume history of the Civil War era. A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton -- The third and final volume of Catton's critically-acclaimed Civil War trilogy; winner of the Pulitzer Prize. The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote -- Three volumes, three thousand pages and more than a million words. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara -- The best Civil War novel of the 20th century and the inspiration behind Ken Burns' epic documentary.

Company Aytch by Sam Watkins -- An illuminating Confederate memoir by a Tennessean who fought practically everywhere in the Western theater The Civil War Trust's comprehensive bookstore can be found here . Q. How much battlefield land has the Civil War Trust saved? More than 34,000 acres and counting! Q. How can I get involved in Civil War battlefield preservation? The Different Names for the Civil War | American Civil War Forums American Civil War Forums Dismiss Notice Join and Become a Patron at CivilWarTalk! Support this site with a monthly or yearly subscription! Active Patrons get to browse the site Ad free! Pipestem,WV The conflict known to most of us as the Civil War has a long and checkered nomenclature. To this day some patriotic Southerners wince at the term, Civil War. These partisans usually favor The War Between the States-and some organizations of descendants of Confederate warriors use this term under their by-laws, and none other. The tide seems to stem from the two-volume work by Alexander Stephens, the Confederate Vice-President, published after the war.

Most of the names listed are of Southern origin, since they were defeated and their heirs grasped for some expression of unquenched ardor and defiance which would do justice to the Old South. These names have been seriously, not to say apoplectically, offered to the world. In a more jocular vein the war has been known as The Late Unpleasantness, The Late Friction, The Late Ruction, The Schism, or The Uncivil War. But in the South in particular it is known simply as The War, as if the planet had not heard a shot fired in anger since '65. Some Examples: The War for Constitutional Liberty The War for Southern Independence The Second American Revolution The War for States' Rights Mr.

Lincoln's War The War for Southern Rights The War of the Southern Planters The War of the Rebellion The Second War for Independence The War to Suppress Yankee Arrogance The Brothers' War The War for Southern Nationality The War Against Slavery The Civil War Between the States The War of the Sixties The War Against Northern Aggression The Yankee Invasion The War for the Union The Confederate War The War of the Southrons The War for Southern Freedom The War of the North and South The Lost Cause Source: Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War​ (Membership has it privileges! To remove this ad: Register NOW! ) donna Brev. Brig. Gen'l Very interesting. Thanks for post. Although it is commonly referred to as the American Civil War, or more simplistically - the Civil War, it is officially known as The War of the Rebellion. Maryland I sometimes refer to it as the Southern War to Defend Slavery. Usually in response to someone calling it the War of Northern Agression. Good topic. I've wondered about this. I've read quotes from Southerners of the time and they referred to it as the Civil War. It certainly fits the dictionary definition of a civil war.

The war between the states name is annoying and now neo-confeds are frowning upon that name. Unionist, I'm starting to appreciate your mud-wrestling. ole Brev. Brig. Gen'l Retired Moderator Joined: Near Kankakee And the beat goes on. We are all quite accustomed to call the Late Unpleasantness the US Civil War. No matter how you parse each name, it's still the Civil War. Stray from that nomenclature by calling it the War of Northern Aggression and you will likely start a pizzing contest. Nobody wants to do that. Do they? I thought we were all adults here. Manure, by any other name still stinks. Unionist, I'm starting to appreciate your mud-wrestling. Click to expand... Maryland ole said: ↑ And the beat goes on. We are all quite accustomed to call the Late Unpleasantness the US Civil War. No matter how you parse each name, it's still the Civil War. Stray from that nomenclature by calling it the War of Northern Aggression and you will likely start a pizzing contest. Nobody wants to do that. Do they? Manure, by any other name still stinks.

Click to expand... I do. And I tote a gallon of water around with me so I can keep my bladder full. You've got to nip this stuff in the bud. The are seriously waging a PR war and I am not budging an inch. I thought we were all adults here. Click to expand... I think you know me better than that. Take a listen to this slop. This man now thinks the term "War Between the States"(I don't like it either, but the constant changing to find the best fit for victim status is annoying) is bad. I don't know who started this myth that the term "civil war" doesn't apply. civil war a war between political factions or regions within the same country. Central Pennsylvania All very good, or too funny whichever applies. In old family letters, etc., just keep seeing 'The Rebellion' , love to know what similar documents tend to refer to it in the south. Hee- you just know in letters home, unless someone was really pendantic, no one was going to go to all the trouble of writing out ' The War of Northern Aggression' when referring to where they might be and why.

I suppose some, just most had to be interested in saying 'Hey' to the family, not spending pencil lead on lengthy descriptions of their political view points. Now having said that, doubtless someone will produce letters home from some pendantic and prolific soldier who did just that. In the book, "The Language of the Civil War" by John D. Wright, he gives several meanings of names for the Civil War. 1. "War Against the States". The name given the Civil War by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston." 2. "War Between the States". The traditional southern name for the Civil War, still heard today. This term empasized a war between states with equal rights, being opposed to the northern name of "War of Rebellion." 3. "War for (or of) Independence." A southern name for the Civil War, which in the South was also called the "War for Southern Independence", the" War for Southern Freedom", and the "War for Southern Rights".

A year after the war ended, Confederate Major General Jubal Early wrote "A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the C.S.A." (1866) and Confederate Major Heros Von Borcke penned "Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence." 4. "War for Separation." A descriptive early southern name for the Civil War." 5. "War for Southern Nationality or War for Nationality." Early southern names for the Civil War, first heard in 1861." 6. "War of 1861." An optimistic name for the Civil War during the first year for many people felt it could never last longer. The name was engraved on some "Identity Discs" worn by soldiers. A similar name was "War of the Sixities"." 7."War of the Rebellion". The official name used by the U.S. Congress for the Civil War while it was happening and until the end of the nineteenth century, when it was printed on the U.S. government publication, "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies". The name was commonly used in the North, along with "the Great Rebellion".

" from: "The Language of the Civil War" by John D. Wright, pages 319-320. Laurinburg NC Unionist said: ↑ I sometimes refer to it as the Southern War to Defend Slavery. Usually in response to someone calling it the War of Northern Agression. Good topic. I've wondered about this. I've read quotes from Southerners of the time and they referred to it as the Civil War. It certainly fits the dictionary definition of a civil war. The war between the states name is annoying and now neo-confeds are frowning upon that name. Click to expand... Civil War is misleading in that it implies the Confederates wanted control of the government in Washington, DC the Confederates didn’t, they wanted control of the government in Richmond, Virginia. As for Neo-Confederates frowning on the name War Between the States, they don’t, it’s that they prefer the War for Southern Independence or sometimes the War against Southern independence.

“A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.” Johan Christoph Schiller Maryland CSA Today said: ↑ Civil War is misleading in that it implies the Confederates wanted control of the government in Washington, DC the Confederates didn’t, they wanted control of the government in Richmond, Virginia. As for Neo-Confederates frowning on the name War Between the States, they don’t, it’s that they prefer the War for Southern Independence or sometimes the War against Southern independence. “A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.” Johan Christoph Schiller Click to expand... It does not imply that. It states clearly what it was. Neo Confederates used to call it the War Between the States. That didn't elicit enough sympathy and they've move on now to test another name. Quinton, VA. JPK Huson 1863 said: ↑ All very good, or too funny whichever applies. In old family letters, etc., just keep seeing 'The Rebellion' , love to know what similar documents tend to refer to it in the south.

Hee- you just know in letters home, unless someone was really pendantic, no one was going to go to all the trouble of writing out ' The War of Northern Aggression' when referring to where they might be and why. I suppose some, just most had to be interested in saying 'Hey' to the family, not spending pencil lead on lengthy descriptions of their political view points. Now having said that, doubtless someone will produce letters home from some pendantic and prolific soldier who did just that. Click to expand... Most of the letters I have read to or from the ANV have either referred to " the war" which if memory serves was probably the most common or "Mr. Lincoln's war". Wake Forest, NC Carronade said: ↑ "War Between the States" doesn't help clarify what the war was about; states could be fighting over anything. It sounds more like a disagreement between states within a nation. Nor does "States" really describe either of the combatants. The Union was fighting specifically as, well, a Union, a single entity, rather than a collection of states.

One could argue that the southern states seceded as individuals, but they formed and fought as a nation; this remains essentially true despite the states' rights issues which complicated their war effort. Click to expand... I'm not sure how you could say individuals seceded, as technically I don't think that is even possible. Right or wrong, it was the states that seceded. Civil War g As of December 31, 2014, I retired from full-time teaching in Humboldt State University's Department of History . While this website will remain online, it is no longer maintained. Please note that a Czech translation of this website is available at . Many thanks to Barbora Lebedová for this translation! History 110 - Dr. Gayle Olson-Raymer The Civil War: Goals, Strategies, and Consequences Introduction: We have already learned that slavery played perhaps the major role in bringing about the Civil War. Today, we will continue our discussion of the war by beginning with an understanding of how slavery continues to influence our social, political, and economic lives. Let's keep this in mind as we watch these two excerpts from the PBS show, African American Lives in which Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

examined the roots of many famous African Americans. Chris Rock Discussion Goals - The Civil War: Goals, Strategies, and Consequences To discuss the goals of the Union and Confederacy on the eve of the Civil War. To examine the initial political strategies of the Union and Confederacy. To examine the resources of the Union and Confederacy at the beginning of the war. To explore the internal factors in the Confederate States of America that led to the Confederacy's defeat. To understand Lincoln's presidency, especially his evolving beliefs about slavery and his role in passing the controversial 13th Amendment. To understand the consequences of the Civil War. Goal #1: To discuss the goals of the Union and Confederacy on the eve of the Civil War In one respect, the Union and Confederacy had the same goal - to preserve a way of life. But all similarities ended there - because both sides wanted a different way of life preserved. Confederacy - Its goal was to secure independence from the North and to establish an independent nation free from Northern political oppression and the repression of slavery. The War from beginning to end would be a noble crusade for democracy for white people.

This goal was grounded firmly in the belief that the Constitution protected slavery, but the Union had denied that right. Southerners, therefore, had the right to secede as it was the only way to defend their right to own slaves and their belief in states' rights. Their actions, therefore, were defensive as they had no choice but secession because of the oppressive politics of the North Union - Its initial goal was to reconcile the Union, while its mid-war goal became to reunite states under a Union in which slavery was not tolerated. The war from beginning to end would be a noble crusade for democracy for all people, not just in America, but throughout the world. This goal was grounded firmly in the belief that the South had no right to secede from the Union and that secession was treasonous and paramount to an act of war against the Union. Their actions, therefore, were defensive as they had no choice but to call for troops after the firing of Fort Sumter. As the war continued, the Confederacy's goals remained the same - BUT the Union's goal changed. When it became clear to Lincoln that the North might lose the war and would only win with great difficulty, it became necessary to change the reason for fighting.

Freeing the slaves became that reason. Thus, the new Union goal was to retain and reshape the Union - by reuniting the states under a union that no longer tolerated slavery! Goal #2: To examine the initial political strategies of the Union and Confederacy Union Goals. The union initially adopted four strategies: Invade the Confederacy and destroy its will to resist. Obtain the loyalty of the border states - Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and in 1863, West Virginia. This was absolutely essential for several reasons: The border states had 2/3 of the South's entire white population, 3/4 of the South's indusrial production, and over half of all its food and fuel. Each state was geographically strategic for the Union - Kentucky held a 500-mile border on the Ohio River; Maryland surrounded the Union capital on the north; Missouri border the Mississippi River and controlled its routes to the west; and Delaware conrolled access to Philadelphia. To fight the war on Southern soil meant marching through hostile border states. And how did Lincoln obtain the loyalty of the border states?

After Fort Sumter, the northern-tier of the slaveholding states - known as the border states - were still undecided about whether to secede. Eventually, all four decided to stay in the Union, but pro-Confederate sympathizers existed in each state and men fought for the Confederacy in all four. In Maryland, more than the other states, there were many Confederate supporters. Maryland stayed in the Union under duress; Lincoln declared martial law, arrested suspected ringleaders of pro-Confederate groups and held them without trial (by suspending the writ of habeas corpus), and detained secessionist leaders. When secessionists moved to block Union activity in the first days of the war, Lincoln stationed Union troops throughout the state and imprisoned most suspected secessionists. In Missouri, an uneasy military rule by Union troops kept them in the Union. Delaware was loyal from the beginning. Kentucky declared neutrality which Lincoln accepted without a fight. A fifth border state was created in mid-1863 due to deep internal divisions in Virginia. Its western counties refused to support the Confederacy because citizens had no slaves or interest in slavery. West Virginia was formally admitted to the Union in June 1863.

Construct and maintain a naval blockade of 3,500 miles of Confederate coastline. Prevent European powers - especially Great Britain and France - from extending recognition of and giving assistance to the Confederacy. Lincoln knew he was in a bind as long as the Confederacy portrayed their rebellion as one for national self-determination. He also knew that if he could redefine the war as a struggle over slavery, Europe’s sympathies would no longer lay with the Confederacy. However, he was not able to address these concerns until mid-way through the war. Confederacy Goals . To be victorious, the CSA knew it did not need to invade the North or capture a mile of its territory. Its strategies were fairly simple: 1. Defend Confederate land. 2. Prevent the North from destroying the Confederate army. 3. Break the Union's will to fight. Goal #3: To examine the resources of the Union and Confederacy at the beginning of the war Total population: Confederacy Advantage: 1 to 124 A Comparative View of the Civil War When the War began: The North held the edge on population and economy; South had the edge on morale. By the War's end: the North maintained the economic edge.

South's population and agricultural base, transportation system, and morale was shattered. Homes, crops, businesses totally destroyed in some areas. Cotton production fell: 4 million bales in 1861; 300,000 in 1865. When the War began: Slavery was intact on both sides. By the War's end: Slaves were freed; South had lost one-fourth of all slaves who fled to the Union. When the War began: Both sides were militarily unprepared for war. Union army of 17,000 was spread throughout the West and one-third resigned to join the Confederacy. Had only 2 generals who had ever commanded an army - one was Robert E. Lee. Confederacy had many volunteers, but most were untrained. By the War's end: About 3.5 million men served on both sides: more than 2 million in the Union. Four of every 5 eligible white southerners served in Confederate Army. In all, almost 10% of the entire US population served in the War. When the War began: No blacks were allowed to enlist in either the Union or Confederate armies.

Union admitted black soldiers in July 1862, but at a lower rate of pay than white soldiers (equalized in late 1864). By the War's end: 186,000 blacks had served in the Union army (one-tenth of the entire Union force.); 50% came from Confederate states. Black soldiers had higher mortality rates than whites as they seldom saw combat, and instead, were often relegated to burying bodies, making them more susceptible to disease. Confederates refused to treat black soldiers as POWs, so they were returned to their state as slaves or executed. When the War began: Volunteer armies were sought. Lincoln called for 75,000 Union troops after Fort Sumter. Confederacy authorized a volunteer force of 100,000. Both sides had plenty of volunteers. By the War's end: Both sides abandoned volunteer armies and adopted a draft. The Confederacy enacted first draft or conscription law in American history in April 1862 - all able-bodied white men 18-35 years of age, and by war's end, all between 17 and 50 years old.

The only exemptions were owners or overseers of 20 or more slaves. The Union Conscription Act was enacted in March 1863 for all men 20-45 years of age; exemptions - paying another man to serve or paying the government $300. When the War began: Widespread support for the war existed on both sides. By the War's end: Dissent and disloyalty abounded. Confederate disloyal included the men who saw Davis as a despot; desertion was widespread - by 1864, the desertion rate was 40 percent. Union dissent increased after passage of the Emancipation Proclamation and the July 1863 NYC Draft Riots ; desertion was common - by 1863,200 men were deserting a day. When the War began: Both sides hoped for British and French support. The Confederacy counted on recognition and then support of Britain as it was dependent upon South for 4/5 annual imports of cotton. By the War's end: Neither Britain nor France could recognize or support the Confederacy after emancipation was declared. Britain developed other cotton markets.

When the War began: Women were not involved in serving society or in work place on both sides. By the War's end: Women were widely involved in both the North and South. Over 3,200 nurses and countless other women volunteers worked in Union and Confederate battlefields and hospitals. In the North, women filled about 100,000 new jobs and in the South, women ran the farms and farm machinery. Thus, the Civil War was a total war in at least four ways: It mobilized total human and material resources of both sides. It ended in a total victory of one side over the other. It resulted in the total destruction of the loser's political, social, and economic system. It established total control by the winners over the loser's political, social, and economic system. Goal #4: To explore the internal factors in the Confederate States of America that led to the Confederacy's defeat Throughout the first three years of the war, the Confederates looked as if they might win. What, then, accounted for their loss? Many have pointed to external causations - failure to gain support of European powers, the Union's strategic shift of objectives, etc.

However, a clear analysis of the war indicates that internal problems within the Confederate government and military were the primary causations for losing the war. At least seven internal factors led to the southern defeat. Loss of the border states Failure of the South to convince the four border states to secede hurt their argument that South must secede to protect their right to own slaves. The states that remained loyal to the Union would have added 45% more white military manpower to the Confederacy and 89% more manufacturing capacity. Absence of centralized/unified political power and goals. From the beginning of the Confederacy, President Jefferson Davis was unable to create a feeling of national community or unity because the government was split between Davis and his followers who believed the Confederacy's first role was to secure the South's independence, even at the expense of states' rights; versus his Vice President, Alexander Stephens, who believed the Confederacy existed to protect slavery and ensure states' rights. Southern belief in aristocratic privilege. Many southerners believed that it was a "rich man's war but a poor man's fight". At least 50,000 of the wealthiest southerners paid for their exemptions - $5,000 or more.

Two out of every 3 white persons who fought owned no slaves. Wartime conditions affected the rich and poor differentially. As food shortages became more acute, the rich began to hoard. The poor suffered so severely that food riots broke out in 1863 in four Georgia cities and in North Carolina. In 1864, the price of food soared - a dozen eggs sold for $6; a pound of butter for $25. The rich paid; the poor starved. Southern aristocracy felt social class should override military rank. Wealthier soldiers would not obey officers of ordinary social rank. Discipline broke down. Failure to provide enough services to meet wartime demands. Although the South had brilliant military leaders and high morale among its troops, it lacked the industrial and agricultural capability to support its supply food, clothing, shoes, medicine, transportation. Further, it lacked the railroad infrastructure to move much needed supplies to the army. Plantation owners continued to rely on cotton crops. Cotton planters were insistent upon raising cotton for profit and would not convert their land to food production for the armies.

Confederacy had to pass an impressment act to feed its armies - took food from civilian farms and plantations, by force in some areas. Internal disintegration of slavery. Slaves ran away, some joined the army, others fled to freedom behind Union lines. Those who remained on the plantation, undermined the system and drastically decreased productivity. Inability to raise enough finances to support the war. Unlike the Union which passed a series of broad-based taxes and borrowed from the middle and wealthy classes, the Confederacy covered less than 5% of its wartime expenditures through taxation and 35% by borrowing money. The Confederate Congress fiercely opposed taxes on cotton exports and the property of planters (especially slaves) and while wealthy planters had enough capital to fund a relatively large part of the war, most refused to buy Confederate bonds. Thus, the Confederacy was forced to finance about 60% of its war expenses with unbacked paper money which, in turn, caused soaring inflation and counterfeit copies of poorly designed and printed Confederate notes. Goal #5: To understand Lincoln's presidency, especially his evolving beliefs about slavery and his role in passing the controversial 13th Amendment Lincoln's evolving beliefs about slavery.

According to Eric Foner 's Pulitzer Prize winning and revisionist book, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (2010): Lincoln was a product of his time - a complicated world dominated by slavery. Thus, when he entered the White House, Lincoln's attitudes about slavery were contradictory. On the one hand, Lincoln was antislavery, as he made clear in his statement that "I am naturally antislavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong." On the other hand, he had a racist streak. He used the words "nigger" and "darky" in conversation, and he thought that blacks, whom he regarded as physically different from whites, should be deported to Liberia, Central America or somewhere else, since they couldn't live on equal terms with whites in America. At the beginning of his presidency, Lincoln believed slavery violated America's basic principles but he was reluctant to take dramatic action against it. He remained so devoted to the American Constitution, with its protections of slavery, that he reluctantly supported the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. At the same time, he made it clear he would prevent slavery's western expansion.

It was this middle course that made Lincoln the Republican's most attractive presidential candidate in 1860. During his four years as president, Lincoln emerged as a great leader, one whose greatness was tied in his capacity for moral and political growth through real engagement with allies and critics alike. And his greatest growth was his eventual belief that the slaves must be freed via an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee their freedom at the end of the war. In the last two months of his life , Lincoln demonstrated how much he had changed In his March 4, 1865 Second Inaugural Address, he says that everybody knows that slavery was the cause of the war ("American slavery" not Southern slavery) and warns that we may have to deal with the "terrible" consequences of the "legacy of slavery" for generations to come. In his last speech on April 11, 1865, Lincoln tackled the complex topic of reconstruction, especially as it related to the state of Louisiana. And for the first time in a public setting, Lincoln expressed his support for black suffrage.

This statement so infuriated John Wilkes Booth, a member of the audience, who vowed, "That is the last speech he will make." A white supremacist and Confederate activist, Booth made good on his threat three days later. Lincoln's qualities - "intellectually curious, willing to listen to criticism, attuned to the currents of northern public opinion, and desirous of getting along with Congress" - indicates that he would have managed Reconstruction better than his less qualified and stubborn successor, Andrew Johnson. Lincoln's role in passing the 13th Amendment. According to Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals (2005): Lincoln was a crafty politician as well as a visionary, courageous leader. "I am the president of the United States, clothed in immense power," Lincoln says and he uses that power. In order to get the 13th Amendment passed, he needed 20 impossible votes in the House of Representatives. Thus, he instructs his agents to trade political appointments for the votes of House members who had lost their seats in the election.

Lincoln plays fast-and-loose with the truth, promising one faction he'll meet with a peace commission from the Confederacy while reassuring another there would be no such talks. Lincoln stood in the middle of a great political fight between the Radical Republicans and the Conservative Republicans in the United States Congress: the Radical Republicans saw emancipation as the central focus of the war, while Conservative Republicans believed preserving the union was more important than emancipation. Lincoln's alignment changed during his presidency: At the start of the war he thought that preserving the Union was the most important thing, and that emancipation was something that he was not sure he had the right to tackle because it was Constitutionally protected. As the war continued, Lincoln came to understand that, as president, he had powers as commander-in-chief when a military necessity was at issue to be able to do something about the slaves. The slaves were being used to help the South - they dug the trenches, cooked for the soldiers, and protected the home front when the soldiers went off to war. These facts enabled him to support emancipation as a military necessity. And to do that, he needed a constitutional amendment to end slavery - and thus he moved to the radical side of the party.

Lincoln became such an advocate of emancipation that he supported and used his political clout to help pass the controversial 13th Amendment freeing the slaves. He came to this decision largely because he understood that the Emancipation Proclamation was a war time act and as such, could be ignored when the war was over. Only a Constitutional Amendment would prohibit the states coming back into the union from re-establishing slavery. Lincoln, Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Address. For three days - July 1 to July 3, 1863 - General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army clashed with the General George Meade's Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, some 35 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It proved to be one of the most violent battles of the war; of roughly 170,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who fought in the three-day battle, 23,000 Union soldiers (more than one-quarter of the army's effective forces) and 28,000 Confederates soldiers (more than a third of Lee’s army) were killed, wounded or missing.

It was a crushing defeat for the Confederacy, and a much-needed victory for the Union. In the next few months, David Wills who was a local attorney began efforts to create a national cemetery at Gettysburg. The cemetary's dedication was set for mid-November and Edward Everett - the former president of Harvard College, former U.S. senator and former secretary of state - was asked to be the keynote speaker. On November 2, Wills asked President Lincoln to join him to "set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks." When he received the invitation to make the remarks at Gettysburg, Lincoln saw an opportunity to make a broad statement to the American people on the enormous significance of the war, and he carefully prepared his speech. On the morning of November 19, Everett delivered his two-hour speech (from memory) on the Battle of Gettysburg to a crowd of about 15,000 people. Lincoln followed, giving his 272-word speech that lasted less than two minutes.

What many historians believe is both the lasting and radical aspect of the speech began with Lincoln's claim that the Declaration of Independence - not the Constitution - was the true expression of the founding fathers' intentions for their new nation when they declared that the nation formed in 1776 was "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Thus, Lincoln's historic address redefined the Civil War as a struggle not just for the Union, but also for the principle of human equality. Historians continue to applaud the importance of the Gettysburg Address in the 21st Century - . The 151st anniversary of Lincoln's delivery of the address will be November 18, 2014. Read the address here at . For extra credit, learn the address and submit it at #HNc78gzKk5w . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Goal #6: To understand the consequences of the Civil War The human costs were enormous: Until the 20th Century, most historians accepted the following statistics about Civil War human costs: Over 620,000 Americans died (360,000 Union; 260,000 Confederate).

Two of every three died of disease. One-fourth of the South's men of military age died. One-fifth of all the black soldiers (about 37,000) died in the War. One in 13 white men of military age died and 163,000 white women were widowed. Some small towns whose young men had joined in a single regiment lost their entire populations of young men. Another 465,000 men were wounded (275,000 Union; 190,000 Confederate).

Question: What were the names given to the two sides in the American Civil War
Answer: Union and Confederate